Railroad-gate



B. E. BARTHOLOMEW.

RAILROAD GATE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1920- B. E. BARTHOLOMEW.

RAILROAD GATE.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT. 20. 1920.

1,398,001 I Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.H J Y Jaw? UNITED STATES BERT E. BARTHOLOMEW, OF ALGONA, IOWA.

RAILROAD-GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

Application filed September 20, 1920. Serial No. 411,522.

To alZ whom it fluza concern:

Be it known that I, BERT E. BARTHOLO- Mew, citizen of the United States, residing at Algona. in the county of Kossuth and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railroad crossing gates and has for its object the provision of means whereby the gates will be automatically lowered upon the approach of a train and automati ally released and raised after the train has passed the crossing. The iiivention also seeks to provide gates operated by an electric motor the circuit through which is closed by the entry of a train upon the section of track which crosses the intersecting road, and also to provide means for positively holding the gates lowered while the train is upon such section. The invention also seeks to improve generally the construction. arrangement and operation of railroad crossing gates. all of which will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention and in the said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation. partly broken away, of the railroad crossing gates, the gates being shown raised or open;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a plan view;

Fig. st is an enlarged detail sectional elevation of a portion of the transmission gearing;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the circuit controller;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the pivots by which the gates are caused to swing in vertical planes.

The railroad track will. of course, be of the usual construction but at distances removed from the crossing at the opposite sides of the same at least equal to the length of an ordinary train, I inter-pose in the track rails insulation 1 whereby the portion of the track crossing the road intersecting the same will be insulated from the remaining track. Conductors 2 and 8 are electrically connected with the rails of that section of the track which crosses the road and the conductor leads directly to a source of electrical energy indicated at 4. The other conductor 3 is connected with a motor 5 of any preferred or well-known type. The driving shaft of the motor is connected by gears 6 with a shaft 7 journaled in the sides of a casing t3 which is erected at one corner of the crossing and carries within the casing a driving gear 9. The said gear 9 meshes with a smaller gear 10 which is fitted upon a rock shaft 11 extending transversely below the track, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, and I prefer to connect the said gear to the shaft by a well-known type of escapemcnt 12 whereby the gear will be positively actuated to lower the gates but will permit relative free rotation of the shaft as the gates are raised, thereby avoiding possible injury to the motor from reverse motion. The rock shaft 11 is equipped with a crank 13'and from the end of the said crank a link1-l extends upwardly to a crank 15 upon the rock shaft 16 which is journaled in the sides of the casing extends through the same. One of the gates, 17, is secured rigidly to the ends of this rock shaft 16 and the gate is illustrated as of a well-known form provided at its free end with a prop 18 adapted to engage the ground when the gate is lowered and thereby support the free end of the same. and also over-balanced at one end, by weights 19, so that it tends constantly to assume a raised position. This gate is of a well-known con struction and in itself forms no part ofmy invention and any other suitable form of gate may be employed. The rock shaft 11 is provided with a crank 20 at the end remote from the gear 10 and this crank is connected by a link 21. corresponding in all respects to the link 14, with a rock shaft 22 corresponding to the shaft 16 and likewise carrying a gate 23. At the opposite side of the road which intersects the railroad, I provide gates 24 which are mounted upon casings 25 and are connected with a rock shaft 26 by links 27 in exactly the same manner as the gates 17 and 23 are connected with the driving shaft 11. Upon one end of the shaft 26. I secure a bell crank lever 28 andthe crank 13 will preferably be one arm of a similar bell crank. as shown clearly in Fig. 41. Crossed connecting rods 29 extend through a suitable conduit 30 parallel with the track at one side of the same to connect the cranks 13 and 28 so that the shaft 26 will be rocked simultaneously with the driving shaft 11. and in the proper direction to cause the gates 2% to move up or down simultaneously 8 near the top thereof and as shown 1n wall above and below the circuit controllingmember 32, as clearlyshown in Fig. 5. The lower contact 34 is connected by a conductor 35 with one terminal of the motor so that when the circuit-closing member 32 rests upon the said lower contact 34, the circuit will be closed through the motor and the same driven to lower the gates through the train of gearing shown and described. The upper contact 33 is electrically connected through a suitable conductor, with one terminal of an electromagnet 36 which is mounted upon the side of the casing S and the armature 37 of which is extended above the magnet and has its upper end former into a hook 38 which is adapted to engage over a suitable catch 39 on the side of the gate 17 when the gate is lowered and there by hold the gate in its lowered position. The conductor 3 is divided and a branch 40 thereof leads to one terminal of the electromagnet so that when the circuit-closer 32 is raised so as to impinge against the upper contact 33. the circuit through the motor will be broken and the circuit through the electromagnet will be closed thereby attracting the armature and drawing the same into engagement with the catch 39 so that the gate will be prevented from rising as long as the circuit is closed.

Within the casing 8, adjacent the circuitcontroller 32, I provide a rocking arm or lever 41 which is pivoted intermediate its ends and has one end disposed immediately below the free end of the circuit-controller 32 which, as shown clearly in Fig. 5 projects beyond and between the contacts 33 and 34%.

To actuate the said rocking arm or lever, a presserfinger a2 is provided upon the link 14 and it will be readily understood that, as the said link moves downwardly to pull the gate into its lowered or closed position, the finger 42 will be brought against one end of the rocking arm which will be thereupon depressed so that the opposite endthereof will be raised and the movable contact 32 shifted into engagement with the upper contact 33 so as to energize the electromagnet and retain the gates inclosed position.

It is thought the operation is clear from. what has been said but it may be briefly summarized. Normally, there is no current flowing and the gates are raised. As soon,

however, as the front wheels of a locomotive enter that section. of the track which crosses the road or an intersect'ng track and to the rails of which the conductors 2 and 3 are connected, the circuit will be closed by the wheels and axle through the motor so that the motor will be set in operation and will actuate the gearing and the several rock shafts so as to swing the gates downward. Current will continue to flow as long as any part of the train is upon the crossing section of the track and as the gates are operated the presser finger 42 descends so as to actuate the rocker arm 41 and the movable contact 32 in the manner described to break the circuit through the motor and energize the electromagnet. The movement of the circuit closer or controller 32 need not be very great and may be instantly accomplished so that the fraction of time intervening between the breaking of the motor circuit and the closing of the magnet circuit-will be infinitesimal and insuflicient to permit the gates to start to rise. Consequently, the'armature 37. will be caused to engage-the catch 39 immediately upon the gates reaching their lowest position and the gates will be positively held closed notwithstanding that the motor circuit is broken and the gates thereby prevented from being swung downwardly to such an extent as to strike theground with such force as to penetrate the same and be damaged. Whenthe last wheels of the train pass beyond the blocks of insulation indicated at 1, the circuit through the magnet will be broken and the armature 37, which is preferably of resilient metal, will be freed so that it will release the gates and permit them. to rise to open position.

It will be readily noted that I have provided an exceedingly simple mechanism and one which may be installed at a slight expense and which will be entirely automatic in its operation so that upon the approach of a train the pates will be lowered and the crossing will. be closed and will remain closed until the train has passed, whereupon the gates will be released and will automatically rise. 1 thus prevent the loss of life and damage to property which is frequently caused by pedestrians or persons in vehicles being caught upon a track without warning of an approaching train, and it is to be understood that my improved gate operating mechanism does not interfere in any way with the use ofwell-known signals and alarms by which lights are displayed at night and a gong or other alarm sounded to notify persons of the approach of a train. signals be employed in connection with the gates so that, the attention of persons approaching the gate will be attracted. It is also to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the exact details of form and ar- It is intended that such.

rangement of the several parts herein illustrated and specifically described, but that minor changes may be made therein at will withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as the same is defined in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. The combination with a railroad of a motor, gearing connecting the with the gate, vertically spaced stationary electric contacts adjacent the gate, a movable contact between said stationary contacts and normally engaging one of them, an electromagnet, an armature therefor constituting a latch to engage the gate to hold it in closed position, a circuit including the motor, the movable contact and the stationary contact normally engaged by the movable contact whereby the motor may be energized to close the gate, a second circuit including the electromagnet, the movable contact and the stationary contact normally free of the movable contact whereby the electromagnet may be energized to draw the latch into engagement with the gate and hold the gate closed, a rocking arm arranged to shift the movable contact between the stationary contacts, and a presser finger movable with the gate to rock said arm whereby to gate, motor break the firstmentioned circuit and close the second-mentioned circuit.

2. The combination with a railroad gate, of a motor, gearing connecting the motor with the gate, vertically spaced stationary electric contacts adjacent the gate, a contact mounted pivotally between the stationary contacts and normally engaging the lower contact, an electromagnet, an armature therefor constituting a latch to engage the gate to hold it in closed position, a circuit including the motor, the pivotally mounted contact and the lower stationary contact whereby the motor may be energized to close the gate, a second circuit including the electromagnet, the pivotally mounted contact and the upper st-ationar I contact whereby the electromagnet may be energized to draw the latch into engagement with the gate and hold the gate closed, a rocking arm mounted at one side of the contacts and engaging under the pivotally mounted contact, and a presser finger movable with the gate to bear upon and rock said arm and lift the pivotally mounted contact into engagement with the upper stationary contact whereby to break the first-mentioned circuit and close the second-mentioned circuit.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

BERT n. BARTHOLOMEW. 1,. 5. 

